Where to buy pistons, total seal rings, and clevite 77 bearings?

I'm looking to do a budget rebuild on a 3.8L SC engine. Where can I find stock replacement oversized pistons? Also, where can I buy Clevite 77 bearings, and Total Seal Rings?

Local auto parts stores don't even list pistons for the SC model..

Jeramie

These links may provide some assistance:

http://sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30264&highlight=engine+rebuild+kit

http://sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16731&highlight=engine+rebuild+kit

http://sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33553&highlight=engine+rebuild+kit

(Some might be in the member's only section.)

Thanks George, I wonder why none of these showed up in my search? I am a member and was logged in.

Jeramie

Sometimes it is hard to get the correct words in a search. I almost always use an "and" operator between words.

For those links my search string was:

engine and rebuild and kit


You probably also want to get David Dalke, Chris Wise and/or Steve Webb to chime in on where to get parts. I'm sure there are others out there that know as much as those guys, but they are the first ones that come to mind.

Many people have rebuilt their motors by now. Maybe you could write up a FAQ once you get all your parts!

George, if you remember correctly, Dr. Fred and I rebuilt the engine in my '92 SC 3 yrs ago.. We used stock bottom end parts from Ford. It was a budget build, I even re-used the 160k mile stock pistons and rods.. Of course, everything was fully balanced, rods, resized, etc.. But we found the weak point of running 330.5 rwhp and 402.8 rwtq through a stock bottom end... THE RINGS!!

The oil control rings arent' very happy and the engine will use a little oil above 4500 rpm and high boost (15psi or so).. It even sprayed oil vapor throgh the breathers on the dyno (pcv dis-abled).. It is still drivable and runs great with the stock pulley on the MP I blower, it just doesn't like being pushed hard anymore..

We knew when rebuilding the engine that the rings were a little loose (had to hone a little more than we wanted to get some imperfections out), but at the time I never planned on pushing the engine this hard.. And with all the MP goodies, it got pushed hard..

So I was thinking of boring the block over, putting some .030 over pistons in with some total seal rings, and keep the cost down that way..

Eh, maybe its time to just bite the bullet and go with the forged stuff..

Jeramie

I just installed a new set of crank/piston bearings in my 94. The new rod bearings no longer come with the oiling hole drilled in them. I asked CMRE about it and he said not to be worried. The oiling holes were not necessary on the rods. The biggest thing to be careful of when installing the crank bearings is to identify the #3 thrust bearing orientation. The instructions say position the bearing with the red dot toward the flywheel. The red dot had all but wore off the new bearing. If I got it wrong you'll see a post in a few weeks from me. The other thing to verify is the rear #4 main cap journal is 10 thousands smaller. The bearing set was in a separate box in the kit but did not have any identifyable markings. The instructions did not even say anything about the #4 bearing being bigger by 10 thousands. I verified it with a digital mic before installing.

92bird said:

I'm looking to do a budget rebuild on a 3.8L SC engine. Where can I find stock replacement oversized pistons? Also, where can I buy Clevite 77 bearings, and Total Seal Rings?

Local auto parts stores don't even list pistons for the SC model..

Jeramie

Click to expand...

Jeramie, I believe you can still get an oversize forged TRW piston for the n/a and just need to shave a few thou off the top. If you contact Aaron Pedroza, he could give you more info since he has already had this done. As for bearings, I suggest getting Clevite 77 from Autozone, cheapest place you will find them. I ordered total seal gapless rings from total seal direct. They were in stock and shipped the same day. You may or may not be able to do better elsewhere since they most likely will be a special order item.

Paul

I would say disabling your PCV was a problem :O)

I would say disabling your PCV was a problem :O)

Click to expand...

Please Elaborate, I was under the impression this was good for keeping oil out of the intake.. Nothing is plugged (except the tap on the inlet plenum), just vented.

Jeramie